With Harshit Rana expected to miss a major bulk of IPL 2026 because of rehab after his knee surgery with no confirmed return date, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are exploring other options for his replacement.
On KKR’s radar are former Chennai Super Kings pace duo Simarjeet Singh and KM Asif, along with Sandeep Warrier. Rana sustained a ligament strain in his right knee during India’s T20 World Cup warm-up match against South Africa.
During KKR’s training session at Eden Gardens on Wednesday, Asif and Warrier took part in the trials. While, Simarjeet had impressed in the earlier trials conducted by KKR’s head of scouting Biju George and deputy Manvinder Bisla.
Simarjeet has turned up for CSK and Sunrisers Hyderabad, and has claimed 11 wickets in 14 matches. Asif grabbed attention with a career-best spell of 5 for 24 against Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. However, injuries have often interrupted his progress. The 32-year-old, who made his IPL debut with CSK in 2018, hasn’t had a consistent run in the league. He was last seen in action for Rajasthan Royals in 2023, where he picked up seven wickets from as many matches.
Meanwhile, Warrier, now 34, entered the IPL with KKR in 2019 and spent three seasons with the franchise. He later had a stint with Gujarat Titans. Across his IPL career so far, he has featured in 10 matches and claimed eight wickets.
New Zealand’s Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and Rachin Ravindra are expected to join KKR on Thursday, following their brilliant performance in the T20 World Cup 2026. Seifert was New Zealand’s top run-scorer with 326 runs at a strike rate over 165, while Allen scored 298 runs at a strike rate of 200, including the fastest century in T20 World Cup history against South Africa at Eden Gardens.
India’s star spinner Varun Chakravarthy is set to join the squad on Thursday, followed by Australian allrounder Cameron Green on Friday, who was KKR’s record signing at Rs 25.20 crore. Sunil Narine, Rovman Powell and Andre Russell are expected to join the team on March 24 before the team heads to Mumbai for their first match of IPL 2026 against Mumbai Indians on March 29.
